Scripture Reading: Col. 1:9, 12, 15-27; 2:2, 9, 16-17; 3:4, 10-11, 15-16
Ⅰ
Colossians reveals the all-inclusive Christ, the One who is both God and man—2:9:
A
For Christ to be the Firstborn of both the original creation and the new creation means that He is all-inclusive—1:15, 18.
B
The all-inclusive Christ is the reality of every positive thing—2:16-17:
１
We need to enjoy Christ as the reality of all our necessities: our breath (John 20:22), drink (4:10, 14; 7:37-39a), food (6:35, 57), light (1:4; 8:12), clothing (Gal. 3:27), and dwelling place (John 15:5, 7a).
２
If we follow the practice of taking Christ as the reality of all the material things in our daily life, we will be full of Christ—Col. 3:4, 10-11, 15-16.
C
The all-inclusive Christ is the preeminent One, the One who has the first place in everything; both in the old creation and in the new creation, both in the universe and in the church, Christ occupies the place of preeminence—1:18.
D
The all-inclusive Christ is the centrality and universality, the center and circumference, of God's economy—vv. 12, 15-27; Eph. 1:10:
１
In God's economy Christ is everything; God wants Christ and Christ alone—the wonderful, preeminent, all-inclusive Christ, who is all and in all—Matt. 17:5; Col. 3:10-11.
２
God's intention in His economy is to work the all-inclusive Christ into our being as our life and our everything that we may become the corporate expression of the Triune God—1:27; 3:4, 10-11.
E
The all-inclusive Christ dwells in us as our hope of glory—1:27:
１
We worship the enthroned Christ in the heavens, but we experience, enjoy, and partake of the indwelling Christ in our spirit; we are one with Him in a very subjective way—3:1; 1:27; 1 Cor. 6:17.
２
The Christ who indwells us is the all-inclusive Christ—the One who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation, the Head of the Body, and the embodiment of the fullness of God—Col. 1:15-16, 18-19.
F
The all-inclusive Christ is our life—3:4:
１
The expression our life is a strong indication that we are to experience the all-inclusive Christ.
２
Because Christ is our life, all He has and all He has attained and obtained become subjective to us—Rom. 8:34, 10.
G
The all-inclusive Christ is the unique constituent of the one new man—Col. 3:10-11:
１
The content of the church as the new man is Christ alone; in the new man there is room only for Christ.
２
In the church as the new man we are in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ, and we subsist in Christ to be God's expression in Christ—1:16-17.
H
We should estimate and evaluate everything according to the all-inclusive Christ—2:8:
１
Christ is the governing principle of all genuine wisdom and knowledge, the reality of all genuine teaching, and the only measure of all concepts acceptable to God.
２
Only when we have a clear view of the place of the all-inclusive Christ in God's economy will we be able to see through delusion and deception.
I
The will of God is that the all-inclusive Christ be our portion; God's will is that we know Christ, experience Christ, enjoy Christ, be saturated with Christ, and have Christ become our life and person—1:9; 3:4.
J
We need to be infused, saturated, and permeated with the all-inclusive Christ until in our experience He is everything to us—1:27; 2:16-17; 3:4, 10-11:
１
The all-inclusive Christ is in us, but we need to see Him, know Him, be filled with Him, be saturated with Him, and be absolutely one with Him.
２
We should allow the all-inclusive Christ to fill our whole being and to replace our culture with Himself—Eph. 3:17a; Col. 3:10-11:
ａ
The more Christ replaces our natural life and culture with Himself, the more we will be able to declare, "To live is Christ"; to us, to live will be the Christ who takes full possession of us, occupies us, and fills us with Himself—Phil. 1:21a.
ｂ
The all-inclusive Christ desires to replace every element of our natural life and culture with Himself so that we may be the one new man as His corporate expression—Col. 3:10-11.
Ⅱ
The all-inclusive Christ is the mystery of God—2:2:
A
The mystery of God preached by the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 2:1) is the mystery hidden in the depths of God; this mystery is the intrinsic reality of the complete gospel of God (Eph. 6:19).
B
The mystery of God—the all-inclusive Christ—is the definition, explanation, and expression of God—the Word of God; embodied in and expressed through Christ is all that God is and has—John 1:1; Rev. 19:13; Col. 2:2-3.
C
The word mystery in Colossians 2:2 may be interpreted as meaning "story":
１
As the mystery of God, the all-inclusive Christ is the history of God; the whole "story" of God is in Christ and is Christ, and all that God intends to do is related to Christ—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rev. 4:5.
２
Christ is not only God Himself—He is also God's history; God's history refers to the process through which He has passed so that He may dispense Himself into His chosen people—John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Eph. 3:16-17a.
３
As the embodiment of God, the effulgence of God's glory, and the impress of God's substance, Christ, the mystery of God, His story, defines, explains, and expresses God—Heb. 1:1-3; Col. 2:2.
４
Since Christ is the mystery of God, if we know Christ, we know God; however, if we do not know Christ, we do not have the way to know God.
５
Only those who have seen Christ as the mystery of God can know God and the eternal purpose of God—v. 2; Eph. 3:9, 11. ?